Lady&#39;s handbag with multiple compartments



Dec. 4, 1956 R. KORET 2,772,713

LADYS HANDBAG WITH MULTIPLE COMPARTMENTS Filed June 12, 1956 2Sheets-Shat 1 INVENTOR .RICHAR D KORE T ATTORNE R. KORET Dec. 4, 1956LADYS HANDBAG WITH MULTIPLE COMPARTMENTS FiledJune 12, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.

INVENTOR RICHARD KORET BY nub, w.

ATTORNE;

the bottom compartment closed.

United States Patent LADYS HANDBAG WITH MULTIPLE COMPARTMENTS RichardKoret, Bedford Hills, N. Y., assignor to Koret, Inc., New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application June 12, 1956, Serial No. 590,942

7 Claims. (Cl. 150-28) The present invention relates to ladies handbags,and more particularly to an improved handbag having a plurality ofselectively usable compartments therein.

As a general rule, ladies handbags are employed for carrying a widevariety of articles,-such as make-up, credit plates, jewelry, change,and the like. Some of these articles, such as change, for example, areused quite frequently, while other articles are used with relativeinfrequency. The present invention, therefore, seeks to provide animproved handbag in which those articles most frequently used are heldin a readily accessible position, while other and less frequently usedarticles are contained in a separate compartment, out of sight, and insuch manner as not to restrict in any way the free accessibility of themore frequently used articles. With respect to the above, the inventionprovides an improved handbag in which infrequently used articles arecontained in a normally closed compartment, below the other articles.The most frequently used articles are held in a normally opencompartment in the top part of the bag. The top compartment, while beingsurrounded by the wall panels of the bag, and thus hidden from normalview, is open at the top, so that free access may be had thereto at alltimes. The lower compartment, on the other hand, is normally closed off,and is not opened when removing articles from the upper compartment. Inthis manner, the less frequently used articles, in the lowercompartment, do not interfere in any way with the free removal of themore frequently used articles. Moreover, the less frequently usedarticles need not even be exposed when other articles are removed.

The present invention furtherprovides a novel handbag having theadvantageous features mentioned above, in which the functional featuresare'combined in such manner to impart a stylish and pleasing outwardappearance to the bag.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made tothe following detailed description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the new handbag;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of-the handbag of Fig 1, illustratingdetails of the bottom compartment closing means;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the new handbag with the bottomcompartment open; a

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the new handbag, with the bottomcompartment closed, and with a'sidepanel thereof bent outwardly'toexpose details of the top compartment; and 1 Fig. 5 is an end'elevationof the new handbag with 2,772,713 Patented Dec. 4, 1956 2 panels 10, 11are connected together by end wall panels 12, 13 and a bottom wall panel14. In the preferred and illustrated form of the invention, the end andbottom wall panels 12-14 may be formed of two similar pieces ofmaterialjoined together at the center of the bottom wall. However, thevarious panels 1214 will be referred to herein as separate andindependent elements of the combination. p

As shown in Fig. 3, the bottom portions of the end wall panels 12, 13are of substantially the same width as the bottom wall panel 14.However, the upper portions of the end panels 12, 13 flare outwardly, sothat the end panels are somewhat wider at the top than at the bot-tom.The end and bottom panels are joined with the side wall panels 10, 11along corner seams, formed in any suitable manner. Suitable piping 15,or other decorative trim, may be secured at these seams, if desired.

'As shown in Fig. 3, the end wall panels 12, 13 are provided withpermanent creases 16, which extend vertically along the center lines ofthe panels, from the upper edges thereof to points spaced above thebottom panel 14. The creases 16 are so formed that the upper portions ofthe end panels tend to fold inwardly when the opposite side wall panels19, 11 are pressed toward each other. In this respect, the end wallpanels 12, 13 form gussets, which permit the side wall panels 10, 11 tobe pressed together, in a substantially fiat condition, or separated tofull width of the end panels, as indicated in Fig. 3. When the side wallpanels 10, 11 are pressed together, the creases 16 lie inside thegeneral outlines of the bag, as indicated in Fig. 2.

When the bag is fully opened, a generally rectangular compartment orreceptacle is formed in the lower portion thereof, while a secondcompartment is formed in the upper portion of the bag. 1 v In accordancewith the teachings of the invention, the lower compartment may be closedoff, while leaving the upper compartment exposed and freely accessible.To this end, the new handbag includes means to hold the opposite sidewall panels 16, 11 together at their midsection. In the illustrated formof the invention, pairs of snap fasteners 17, 18 are provided atopposite sides of the sidewall panels 10, 11 facing outwardly substantially in the manner indicated in Fig. 2. The fasteners 17, 18 arepreferably the female elements of complete pairs of fasteners. The maleelements 17, 18' of the pairs are secured at the ends of short strapsor'cinchers 19, 20, which may be formed of material similar to that withwhich the bag generally is formed, or may be made of a contrastingmaterial, where desired. The

' straps 19, 20 are of such length that, when the male Referring now tothe drawings, the numerals designate, generally, opposite side wallpanelsof thehandat the bottom than at the top, howeven' The' sid e wallfastener elements thereof are engaged with the female fastener elements17, 18 on the bag, the side wall panels 10, 11 are drawn and held closetogether. This substantiallycloses o'if the lower compartment of the bag,as will'be readily apparent upon comparison of Figs. 3 and 5.

It is an important feature of the invention that the straps 19,.20engage the sidewall panels 19, 11 around the midi-portion or waist ofthe bag, while the upper por-- tions of the side wall panels remainfree. The closed or cinched waist ofthe bag thereby defines the bottomof the upper compartment, which is open at the 'top and therefore freelyaccessible at all times.

As" shown Fig. 5 when the cinchcrstraps 19,120 are provide for thenormal divergence of the upper portions of 'the side wall panels, thepanels are formed of two sections of material joined together alonghorizontal seams 21. As shown in Fig. l, for example, the panel 10comprises upper and lower sections ltla, 1011 which are secured inoverlapping relation and secured by seams 2i and 22. This impartsadditional strength or body to the waist portion of the bag, to improvethe cinching thereof by the straps 19, 20.

As shown in Fig. 4, one of the upper side wall portions 1011 has apocket 23 therein, closed at the top by a horizontal zipper 24. In thisrespect, it will be understood that the panel 10a, as well as the otherpanels described herein, may be formed of several layers of materialincluding, for example, a body fabric, an inner lining, and an outer orcover fabric. The pocket 23, therefore, may be formed between the bodyfabric and inner lining of the panel 10a, and the pocket itself may bedefined by addition-al layers of material. The actual construction ofthe pocket, per se, is not part of the present invention and will,therefore, not be described in detail. The location of the pocket 23 is,however, of importance, and in the illustrated bag the zipper 24 at thetop of the pocket is located in the upper compartment of the bag, ashort distance below the upper edge of the panel llia and paralleltherewith.

On the opposite panel Ida, constituting the upper portion of the sidewall panel ll, is secured a change-purse 25, which may be of aconventional type, having pivoted frame members 26 of inverted U-shapeforming closure elements. The purse 25 is positioned so that the upperportion thereof is located within the upper compartment of the "bag, ashort distance below the upper edge of the panel 11a.

The change-purse 25 and Zipper pocket 23 are, in accordance with theinvention, exposed at all times in the upper compartment of the bag, sothat ready access may be had thereto regardless of whether the :cincherstrapsare fastened in place. Frequently used articles, such as change,tokens, and the like, may, therefore, be conveniently carried in thepocket 23 or purse 25, while other articles may be carried in the lowercompartment of the bag. In this respect, however, it will be understoodthat the pockets 23 and 25 are merely exemplary, and other combinationsor arrangements may be employed to hold article in an accessible mannerin the upper compartment of the bag.

For carrying the bag, a pair of loop handles 27, 28 are secured to theupper panels liia, 11a, respectively. The handles 27, 28 extend abovethe top of the bag an appropriate distance, so that they may beconveniently gripped by the hand or slipped over the forearm. Thehandles 2 7, 28 are advantageously mounted upon the upper panels 1%,1111, so that these panels tend to close when the bag is carried, while,when the handles are re leased, the panels Ida, 11a assume the divergentpositions shown in Fig. 5.

Perhaps, the most important advantage of the new invention is the novelstructure whereby separate closed and open compartments are provided bycinching the bag at the waist. Bulky and infrequently used articles maybe carried in the normally closed lower compartment, Where they are outof view, as well as out of the way. The more frequently used articlesmay be carried in a conveniently accessible manner, in either the zipperpocket .23 or change-purse 25, which are exposed at all times in theopen upper compartment of the bag.,

When it is desired to reach an article in the lower compartment of thebag, one or both of the cincher straps 19, 2!) may bedisengaged atoneend, so that the bag may be fully opened to expose the lowercompartment. In a mann r, h ne desi d; e inch s rap 19 293, 23 b ent rey rem v a th b g mploy as a general purpose tote bag:

The various features of the new bag, which are adpended claims indetermining'thefull scope of the grant.

I claim:

l. A ladys handbag comprising in combination a pair of generallyvertical side wall panels, a bottom wall panel joining said side wallpanels along their bottom edges, a pair of generally vertical end wallpanels joining the side edges of one of said side wall panels withcorresponding side edges of the other of said side wall panels andjoining with said bottom wall panel, said panels forming a handbag bodyand defining an opentopped receptacle, said end wall panels beingfoldable inwardly of said receptacleupon movement of said side wallpanels toward :each other, releasable means engaging said side wallpanels approximately midway between the top and bottom edges thereof forlimiting the separation of said sidewall panels and substantiallyclosing off the bottom portion of said receptacle to form upper andlower compartments therein, at least the upper portions of said sidewalls being relatively flexible and being separable when said side wallsare engaged by said releasable means, and pocket means exposed in saidupper compartment.

2. The handbag of claim 1, in which said releasable means comprisesflexible means releasably engaging corresponding side vedges of saidside wall panels and extending from one side wall panel to the other.

3. The handbag of claim 2, in which said means releasably engaging saidside wall panels comprises a pair of flexibl cinch straps at oppositeends of said handbag and adapted to extend around the ends thereof fromone side wall to .the other, means to connect one end of each strap to aside wall panel, and releasable fastener means for attaching the otherend of each of said straps to an opposite side wall panel, said strapsbeing of such length as to limit the separation of said sid wall panelswhen said straps are connected at both ends to opposite side 'wallpanels.

4. A ladys handbag. comprising in combination a pair of generallyvertical side wall panels, a bottom wall panel joining said side. wallpanels along their bottom edges, a pair of generally vertical end wallpanels of substantially the same width as said bottom wall panel, saidend wall panels joining said side-wall panels along their side edges,said panels forming a handbag body and defining an open-top receptacle,releasable means to hold said side wall panels in closely spacedrelation at a point approximately midway between the upper .and loweredges thereof to substantially close off the bottom portion of saidreceptacle and thereby define upper and lower compartments, and carryinghandles secured to said side wall panels above said releasable means,said handles tending, When-gripped simultaneously, to close the saidupper compartment.

5. The handbag of claim 4 further characterized by said releasable meanscomprising flexible cinch straps engaging corresponding side edgeportions of said side wall panels. 7 r

6. The handbag of claim 5 including means securing one end of each ofsaid cinch straps to a side wall panel, and releasable snap fastenermeans for connecting the other end of each cinch strap to a side wallpanel.

7. The handbag of claim 4 further including auxiliary pocketmeanscarried by one of said side wall panels and exposed in the saidupper compartment, said auxiliary pocket means being accessible whensaid side wall panels are engaged by said releasable means.

References Cited in the file of this patent D. 119,848 D. 154,119 D.162,845

UNITED STATES PATENTS Lewis Apr. 9, 1940 Gumbrill June 14, 1949 KohnApr. 10, 1951 Pichel June 14, 1921 6 Keiser et a1. June 5, 1928 SamstagApr. 29, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 1, 1923

